Rangers star Antonio Colak might’ve shown in flashes his quality in front of goal, but the Croatia striker still has some proving himself to do to the Ibrox doubters.
Signed in the summer on a reported £1.8m deal [Sky Sports] from Greek side PAOK, Colak’s return of 17 goals so far this season might be viewed as a success in some quarters.
But at Rangers success is measured in trophies and the reality is that in the absence of Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, it’s not been enough to keep the club’s Premiership campaign alight.
Antonio Colak is a solid finisher and has shown a propensity to find the back of the net but there are limitations to his game which have plenty at Rangers doubtful over his long-term impact.
Rangers and Croatia doubts over Antonio Colak
The player is, sometimes unfairly, viewed as a one-dimensional player whose only real contribution is prodding the ball into the back of the net.
It’s not a bad skill to have, but when Rangers routinely play with only one striker it takes more than just netting against Premiership dross to get the seal of approval from the Ibrox stands.
Against Motherwell at the weekend, the costly decision not to square to Fashion Sakala with Rangers’ 2-1 up at Fir Park might’ve come back to cost the club valuable if not increasingly indifferent points.
Especially considering a nervous Colak then compounded his misery by allowing Bevis Mugabi to toe-poke home an equaliser minutes later.
It’s not just Rangers fans either who have doubts about Antonio Colak, with the Croatia national team once again snubbing the forward ahead of the next round of international fixtures.
Whilst expectant father Borna Barisic missed out for other reasons, Antonio Colak hasn’t had a Croatia cap since 2021 and at 29 time is running out to change that.
As Rangers look ahead to a summer of change in the striker position, the club needs more from Antonio Colak to prove that he’s the hitman Ibrox needs to deliver more silverware in the coming seasons.
Meanwhile, Rangers must avoid a Khvica Kvaratskhelia 2.0 this summer.